Divide and conquer

Its been a little while since I have posted here but I wanted to capture the thoughts I had on a topic that is more practical than "Deep". Having a team means there are multiple moving parts that can be put to tasks in such a way as to accomplish much more than any one of the team could by themselves. To go even further they are more than merely the sum of their parts. But a leader must, just like a good sports coach, know when to pull one of the players out of the game for the good of not only themselves but of the team.

Ill admit I'm not a huge sports fan, quite honestly I would rather read a good book any day than sit through a game. However I think this analogy is particularly true when it comes to work and follows almost directly the sports allegory. I have seen coaches pull out star players during a game when not only they fell that player needs resting but also for the good of the team. They will bench the star knowing the rest of the team can maintain while the player rests and then bring them back in at a critical moment when their energy is renewed and when the opportunity in which they reintroduce them can take full advantage of their talent.

In the workplace this is an important lesson to learn from a coach. I have seen many times a full team huddle around a problem and all of them work to the wee hours of the morning trying to solve it. This may look like, at face value, a great idea and perhaps sometimes it is. But looking at the lesson of the coach we see that we really may be hurting the team. With all players getting tired there is no one to play relief. You are not staggering your resources and honestly at those times when other members of the team can maintain until a specific resource is needed for a task they are uniquely gifted for, you have squandered that by the fact of using them up when you didn't need them.

This isn't an easy one to do consistently but learn to know when to send people home. Learn to know what resources need to be engaged at what times. I have had tough times with this on a few occasions and sometimes people will misunderstand when you are trying to send them home or be upset because they aren't a part. The only thing I can say to this is explain why you are doing it. In the long run you are helping each of them, the team, and your organization but "coaching" instead of just letting them call their own plays during a crisis situation.

Good practical tips

I got this article from a friend and wanted to post it here. Its actually really good practical advice on bad habits a boss can have and what we can do as workers to compensate or redirect.

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/jobseeker/tools/ept/careerArticlesPost.html?post=143

Enjoy

Time...

Time is such an important commodity in the workplace. People always complain about not having enough or spending too much of it at work in general. How managers and more importantly leaders spend their time on those who they lead is vital.

Quality, Quantity, Consistency...
The three measures of time that I see as key to effectively investing your time in those around you.

Quality

When you have a meeting with someone that time is set aside for them and you to communicate and accomplish the goals of the moment. To put it another way it is the time you set aside all other things to focus in on the individual and the needs surrounding the meeting. I had a manager of mine at a past job who had a horrible habit of reading emails or being easily distracted by things on his screen while meeting with me. It didn't matter if it was a routine meeting or impromptu, the action was the same.

I finally worked up the courage to discuss this habit with him. He was totally oblivious to the fact he was dividing his time between me and the other tasks that were probably very important too. The end result was neither got the attention it needed during the meeting :).

Some tips that work for me to ensure quality is given:

• Turn off all other distractions (turn off your monitor, put away or set aside paperwork, etc.)
• Prepare for the meeting. This can take the form of an Agenda you create for yourself or for both of you. Mentally prepare by wrapping up other activities a few minutes before the meeting so your aren't still thinking about the other items.
• Ask for questions prior to the meeting so you can be prepared for it and thus maximize the use of the time you have with whom you are meeting.
• Review at the end of the meeting. Cover action items, review follow up assignments and give time for any further questions or opportunity for clarification.

Quantity

I know the first think you are going to think is "The amount of time". Well that is true also but not the main focus when I say quantity. Realize that the measure of time of your employee's or coworker's is just a valuable and precious a commodity to them as it is to you. When you take away any quantity of that time, you are spending a currency that is just as hard for them to earn as it is for you.

Nothing speaks louder than wasting another person's time. I have had managers and people I work with who thought it was no big deal to blow off meetings, reschedule multiple times for the same meeting, or show up chronically late to meetings. Many times they have excuses about conflicts etc., however the underlining message is "My time is worth more than yours!".

These truths we hold to be self evident (ok too much drama), in other words these tips seem no brainers:

• Show up to your meeting on time (or even early to prepare as stated above)
• If you have to reschedule be considerate of other people's time and give them some notice
• If you find yourself running late or running behind in meetings, take that into account and schedule your meetings with buffer time in between. Its better to plan ahead for that than to throw multiple other peoples' schedules off because of lack of planning.

Consistency

Knowing your manager is available to you and more importantly makes time for you is a wonderful feeling. I try to consistently set aside time for each of my employees or for functional groups as the case may be on a regular basis. It may take the form of weekly 1 on 1's or quarterly departmental meetings. Which ever way you set it up, your people will know and even anticipate the time you have set aside for them. They will know this is their time, set aside, to meet with you and get your attention.

Keep your schedule with them consistent. Make sure to give them a routine they can count on and you will cut down, many times drastically, the amount of impromptu calls and meetings that in the end eat up much more of your time. You most likely find they will queue up their questions for their scheduled time with you, if they know it is coming up.


To the measure you value your people's time, they will measure it as how you value them.

With the measure that you judge....

So shall you be judged. So the saying goes. As a leader it is imperative that you remain objective, honest, and hold yourself and your team to the same standards you expect from others in your organization. Working as an IT professional and a manager in that particular group it is easy to give in to the desire to come down hard on some people or groups when an abuse of the "rules" occurs. What you have to remember is that you may find yourself in the future asking for another chance for someone on your team who has made the exact same mistake.

Does that mean go easy on everyone so that when it occurs to you it will slide also? Absolutely not. What I think it does mean though is let the data speak for itself and be sure to mete out "justice" equally to all people. Some people you work with, you just won't like at all. As a leader I try to use this as an exercise in objectivity and pull my emotions and feelings out of the situation and let the problem and the more specifically the data discovered in the problem speak for itself.

I had sadly experienced this, too often, to occur where the well liked or necessary people get tons of slack and the people with less than popular personalities get none at all. So how to stay above board in both action and in judgement?

Gandhi answers it best with one of his better known quotes:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Behave in judgment towards others how you would want yourself or your team to be treated and be sure to hold your team to the same standards you want to hold others.

Playing the long game

Letting someone go is never a fun thing in my opinion.
Really just by my not saying "Firing someone" shows my aversion to the whole mess. Unfortunately I had to do that this last week. As much as it affected the person on the other side of the table it truly affects both sides. I walked away from this particular experience realizing a few things that I think any leader or manager needs to realize:

• Do not be afraid to say the unpopular truth

Too many times people only want to reinforce the positive and completely neglect the negative actions/habits that need correcting. One thing I saw in this case was a person who had probably never been "scared straight" from some very bad work habits. Past management in his life didn't seem to take the time to make minor adjustments to keep the employee from later tragedy.

• Be in it for the long game

Saying what may make an employee temporarily defensive or even might hurt their pride, when it is in an attempt to correct them, can have long lasting positive results. Its always easier to be the manager who only gives praise, only give positive feedback during the review times. However it is a much better manager/leader who is willing to be momentarily unpopular and help the employee strive toward bigger and better things in their career.

Be willing to be that leader who will take the time to mentor, correct, and help an employee better themselves. It may take time, it will definitely take effort and for the short term it may be a thankless endeavor, but in the long run you really are doing them a favor.